Alexander Smith will be honored with the 2025 SASTRA Ramanujan Award

The 2025 SASTRA Ramanujan Award will be presented to Dr. Alexander Smith of Northwestern University, United States of America. The SASTRA Ramanujan Award was established by SASTRA University in 2005 to honor young mathematicians under the age of 32 for their outstanding work.

• The 2025 SASTRA Ramanujan Award will be presented to Dr. Alexander Smith of Northwestern University, United States of America. This annual $10,000 award is given for outstanding contributions by individuals under the age of 32 in areas of mathematics influenced by Ramanujan.
• Mathematician Dr. Alexander Smith has made significant contributions to several long-standing problems in number theory, using ideas from combinatorics, analytic number theory, and probability.
• He is considered one of the most talented young mathematicians in the world, whose work is strongly influencing research in several fields.
• Smith received his bachelor’s degree from Princeton University in 2015 and his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 2020.
• After that, he received the NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship at MIT during 2020–21 and the Clay Fellowship from 2021 to 2025. In 2025, he joined Northwestern University as an assistant professor.
• The SASTRA Ramanujan Award was established by SASTRA University in 2005 to honor young mathematicians under the age of 32 for their outstanding work in areas influenced by Srinivasa Ramanujan.

The President of India presented the “Mera Bharat - NSS” Awards for 2022–23

• On October 6, 2025, the President of India, Mrs. Droupadi Murmu, presented the “Mera Bharat - National Service Scheme (NSS)” Awards for the year 2022–23 at Rashtrapati Bhavan. In this ceremony, students, program officers, and institutions were honored for their exceptional contribution to voluntary service and nation-building.
• The National Service Scheme (NSS) was launched in 1969 on the birth centenary of Mahatma Gandhi to encourage youth participation in community service and personality development.
• Its motto is “Not Me, But You” (in Hindi: स्वयं से पहले आप), which reflects the spirit of selfless service.
• NSS operates in schools, colleges, and universities. Each unit generally adopts a village or slum area and conducts regular activities (120 hours per year) and a 7-day special camp during its two-year cycle.
• The Mera Bharat - NSS Award was established in 1993–94 by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.
• Its objective is to recognize the outstanding contribution made by NSS volunteers, program officers, units, and universities in the field of social service and community development.
• The awards are given annually and cover several categories: volunteers, program officers, NSS units, and institutions/universities.

Mari won the G. Prabhakaran Memorial Award

• Mari, the chief forest inspector-conservationist of Silent Valley from the Muduga community, has won this year’s Environmental Excellence Award, given in memory of former The Hindu correspondent G. Prabhakaran.
• He was presented the award at a ceremony held at Hotel Gazala under the banner of the Organization for Industrial, Spiritual and Cultural Advancement (OISCA) Palakkad Chapter.
• Writer Asha Menon will present the award. District Collector M.S. Madhavikutty will inaugurate the ceremony. Municipal Chairperson Pramila Shashidharan will pay tribute to Prabhakaran.
• Prabhakaran’s family instituted the environmental award by contributing ₹30,000 as prize money and a citation. Reji Joseph, a reporter of Deepika from Kottayam, won the first edition of this award in 2024.